Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-12-22

his old overcoat and went home through
the streets where the snow lay thick and
heavy until he reached his comfortable
looking three story house. After he rang
the bell he muttered to himself
II might just as well have only given
Mark 81 instead Of So. He'd been Just
as thankful, and I'd a'saved that much
And all those things there-why, / could
have sold them at discount, but then,
after it all, / was losing ground in church
custom by what they call my stinginess,
and now, well, guess after all I'm glad
| give them. The poor who get them can't
complain. Oh, here she comes at last And
she will expect a present, tool 1t seems
as if everybody was beset Christmas timel
I'm sick of it. Hap'
At this instant Mrs. Warner, who was
servant and housekeeper both, opened the
door, her rather long face wreathed in
smiles and her form dressed in her best
black silk gown. Peter Perkins was as
tonished and surprised as she led the way
to the dining room, where the old mans
dinner was laid, for on the table smoked
"A splendid turkey, while several other
dainty and toothsome dishes stood about,
among them noble mince pie that gave
out mellow, luscious odor that mortal
could not withstand, and yet he turned,
saying f1ercely:
MARY Warnerl Who gave you author
ity to do this? Why, here is dinner
enough for twenty, and such extrava-
gance! l told you this morning didn't
believe in holiday nonsense, and | told you
to cook half a mackerel and q potato,
didn't I?''
"You did, sir, and was going to do it;
only this morning my sister in the coun-
try sent me Christmas box, and these
were in it, and as / couldn't cat them all
myself made bold to offer you half, sir,
and no offense, hope"
''Oh, well, that alters the case. Well,
yes, | don't care if do" and he allows
himself to fall in the chair she pushed for
ward, and he fell to and in short time
had eaten most excellent dinner, which
he finished with great golden doughnut
and piece of cheese. He took these as in
O dream, one in each hand, and made
alternate bites of doughnut and cheese in
q reflective and even retrospective man
ner as he thoughts:
"Why don't city folks learn to make
crullers like this? For love nor money
you couldn't buy anything like this in all
this great city. They taste just as
mother used to make them. Her tin
DOA WAS USNcE tiupby anu DOW
good they were the older they were the
meilower and better they We're. 1 re-
member she used to make me boy and
mouse every time she fried crullers, and
always two P's for my letters. And
Christmas and New Years she put car
away seed candies all over mine. won
der how she did it. That mincc pie was
good. / think l will take another piece.
1t hain't cost anything and it makes me
think of old times. -
And so the miserly old man sat and ate
until his usual bedtime came, when he lit
his candle, for he never would have gas,
and went to bed.
Scarcely had he got warm and comfort
able when he saw standing by his bedside
a stranger whose face was carefully
turned away, and who wore long loose
garment of some unknown fashion, and
instinctively Peter Perkins put his hand
under his pillow after his revolver, think
ing Of robbers, but the stranger said in a
low voice, which yet had such authority
in it that the wretched man dared not
diSobey:
''Arise, dress yourself and follow me-"
As in dream the little miser followed,
but they went so swiftly that he could
not see where they were going until ut
last the stranger said:
"Open your eyes and tell me what you
see"
Peter Perkins stood and gazed with his
wizened face pale and frightened He
seemed to be in vast place, so vast that
it appeared to be visible illimitable space.
There was no beginning nor end to any
where, and yet he was there in the midst
of this infinity of distance, and before
him upon nothing stood great tables upon
which was piled heterogeneous collection
Of everything imaginable, and while he
was irving to understand this confusion,
he noticed that there had appeared, rank
Oh rank and file on file, limitless count
less numbers of cherubim and seraphim,
and in the midst of this throng sat upon
a crystal throne Christ. the bc the
loving, the pitiful and his featur ed
to eXude sweetness and mercy frcl. cry
lineament, and his smile was inefably
tender
The cherubim and sera7him sang
'Glorv, glory to God in the highest and
on earth peace and good will to men,"
and as Peter Perkins watched this beauti,
full couutenance he saw its eXpressiolf
change. Sometimes it became that of q
little child sweet and infantae, again it
was tender and pitiful, then it looked as
it must have done when he said, Come
to me, all We weary and heavy laden"
then it was filed full of sorrow and merci-
full goodness, and then it grew stern and
awful
Then Peter Perkins noticed that there
was a throng ever increasing aad reach
ing far below them so that tie end Of
them was far out of sight, and these
people came sngly to the foot Of the
Saviour and there laid a gift which was in
stantly taken by the angels and laid upon
a pair of scales, which did not measure by
the weight of the gift itself, but the
motive which lay like living heart in
side it.
Then Peter Perkins saw that all who
had not yet offered their gift had bur-
den to carry, large or small, and he sud-
denly became aware that the bl rien fast
ened upon his own back was enormous
and was very heavy. But he turned TO
the stranger and said: when viii it be
my turns
when all Of these shall have passed. =
| And he kad 20 ssesd there with ths